Apparatus for dressing or stiffening pile fabrics.



No. 848,909. PATENTED APR. 2, 1907.

' F. E. KIP. APPARATUS FOR DRESSING 0R STIFFBNING PILE FABRICS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN-30. 1901. RENEWED MAR. 7, 1906.

INVENTOR ATTORNEY PATENTED APR. 2, 1907.

F. E. KIP. APPARATUS FOR DRESSING 0R STIFFENING PILE FAB RIOS.

APPLICATION FILED JAILSO, 1901. RENEWED MAR. 7, 1906.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

INVENTOR WI TNESSES: 2971/. WW'WW GLAWQ/YGPM ATTORNEY FREDERIC E. KIP, OF MONTOLAIR, NEW JERSEY.

APPARATUS FOR DRESSING OR STIFFENING PILE FABRICS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 2, 1907.

Application filed January 30, 1901. Renewed March 7,1906. Serial No. 304.661.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERIO E. KIP, a citizen of the United States, residing at Montclair, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in A paratuses for Dressing or stiffening Pile Fa rics, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the class of appa- Io ratusesor machines for applying, drying, and smoothing the coating of stiffening or dressing material applied to the back of a strip or piece of pile fabric, such as velvet, plush, and the like.

In order that the purpose and object of this a aratus may .be the better understood, it wil e of advantage to explain that in the apparatus ordinarily employed for this purpose the strip of pile fabric is carried along continuously by an endless-chain carrier having on its links pins which engage the selvages of the fabric and keep it stretched, means being provided for moving the chains apart with the object of putting a lateral ten- 2 5 slon onthe movin fabric. The upper side of the fabric is the ack, the lower side being the pile-face. A stiffening solution or material of a mucilaginous composition known in the art is applied as a coating to the upper surface or back of the moving fabric, and the latter then passesover a heater placed below or underneath, which dries the coating. The dried coating is then smoothed by ir0nin the stretched fabric with hot irons of special form applied by hand. This is the construction heretofore employed for effecting the object sought.

It has beemfound that in order to get a sufficient quantity of the mucil aginous stiffen- 4 in" material in the coating on the back of the fabric there is great danger of the material penetrating the back of the fabric andmpiling the pile on the face below. Hence a quantity insuflicient to produce the best results has been made to serve from necessity. It has also been found. that the application of heat from below for drying the coating of stiffening material does not produce the best results, being indirect and appliedto the'deli- 5o cate pile-face, which is easily ln ured. By

applying the heat directly to the coated surface and without assing through the pile side of the fabric tfie coated surface is dried quicker and the silkiness of the pile imparted by previous finishing processes is retained.

To obviate these defects is the object of the present invention, and in carrying it out an apparatus has been provided wherein a coating of relatively thick or pasty stiffening material is first applied to the back of the fabric and dried. Then on this dried coating, which prevents penetration, another coating of the material in a more liquid form and more liberal quantity is applied on the first coating and this second coating then dried. The surface thus coated is then ironed, and

the effect is much superior to that producedv in the old way. The risk of injury to the pile on the lower face of the fabric is also wholly eliminated. The heat, by reason of the new construction, is also a plied directly to the coated surface from afiove, whereby the best drying effect with the least liability to injury of the fabric is attained.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate'an embodiment of the invention, Figures 1 and 1 are, conjointly, a sectional elevation of the apparatus on a small scale. As the apparatus is quite long, it has been necessary to show in Fig. 1 the terminal portion Where the finished fabric emerges. Fig. 2 is a cross-section at line 90 in Fig. 1, but on a larger scale than the latter. Fig. 3 is a sectional detail view of the preliminary drying device. Fig. 4 is a transverse section substantially at m in Fig. 1, showing the means for applying the mucilaginous stiffening material, and Figs. 5 and 6 are longrtudinalvertical sectional views, respectively, of the first and second devices for applying the said material. A represents a long supporting-frame, represented as broken away at several points in Fig. 1 for lack of room, and Fig. 1 shows the continuation of the said frame. In the frame A are mounted two endless-chain carriers B and B, and over the respective carriers are mounted heaters C C for drying the coating of stiffening material.

D and D designate the points Where the stiffening material is applied.

X designates the pile of fabric to be treated, a: the strip of the fabric as it is carried through the apparatus, and X, Fig. 1 the pile of finished fabric. From the pile X, Fig. 1, the strip a is led about tension-bars a, thence about a preliminary drier E, thence over upper rollers b, thence under arotary brush 0, thence about a guide-bar d and roller 6, and thence under a scraper f at the point I),

the material 3/, which may be supplied from a reservoir 9 or by hand, as desired, the surplus v material overflowing into a i'eceptacle h be low.

Fig. 5 shows the device at the point D on a larger scale,-and Fig. 3 shows the preliminary drier E on. a larger scale. This device comprises a hollow V-shaped bar fixed to the frame of the apparatus, over which the fabric a: is drawn, and gas-jets i, which heat the said bar on its hollow outer side or face. The tension device, guide-rollers, and brush 0 possess no novel features. The brush may be driven in anyway and from any source. The stiffening material y applied at D will be quite thick and pasty, and the scraper f leaves only a slight or thin coating thereof on the back of the fabric.

From the scraper f the strip of fabric extends to the first endless-chain carrier B, where its selvages are attached to pins in the links of the chains, rollers j, mounted on the frame, serving to press the material down on the pins. Fig. 2 shows the construction of the parts sufliciently. It may be said here that no novelty is claimed for the chain-.carriers and the means for spreading the chains thereof laterally in order to stretch the fabric. This means comprises, as herein shown, screw-shafts 7c, rotatively mounted in the fixed part of the frame and carrying bearers m for the chains, these bearers being thread ed on the said shafts.

The chain-carrier B vcarries'the stretched and coated fabric under the first heater C, which is mounted directly over the upper face or back of the fabric. Preferably this heater will be in the form of a box or casing having a ribbed metal plate a for abottom, and burners 0, supplied with gas and'compressed air, respectively, from pipes p p.

referably the heater will be suspended, so that it may be raised or lowered, in order that its bottom plate shall beset nearer to or farther from the moving fabric below it. This may be effected by providing it with screw-threaded supporting-rods g, which extend through a framing above and have on them nuts 7. .This heater C dries the coating on the back of the fabric and the latter is carried on to the point D, where the second coating of stiffening material is applied. The device for this purpose is the same or very similar to that at B, and it is fully. illustrated in Figs. 4 and 6. The fabric :0 passes over a bearing-rod 6, preferably of glass, and then down to and under a scraper f. From this point it passes on to the second carrier B. A thinner stiffening material 'y is here su plied to the already-coated back of the fagric, and this second coating is dried by the second heater C as the strip of fabric is drawn under the same. After passing the heater 0 the coated back of the fabric is ironed by hand with heated irons especially designed for the purpose. This operation is not'new and has no relation to the present invention.

It need only be stated that when the coat ed fabric reaches the delivery end of the machine (seen in Fig. 1) it passes from the carrier B to and about a guide-roller s and thence about a steam-heated roller or drum i. From this drum or roller, which assures its being thoroughly dry, the finished fabric is carried back by an endless slotted apron a to the pile X I have not'illustrated the driving mechanism for the endless carrying-chains, the steamheated roller, and the apron a, as these features are not broadly new, and they may be driven in the usual way and by the usual means. a

I have shown only gas as means of heating the fabric, but obviously any other means of heating may be employed, as steam or electricity, for example.

The object in'ribbing the plate a of the heater is in part to stiffenthe plate, so that it may be brought close to the fabric without touching the latter at any point and in part to store up and uniformly-diffuse the heat, so that the under surface of the plate will act uniformly as a drier.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. An apparatus for the purpose specified, having means for carrying the strip of fabric, means for applying a primary coating of thick dressing or stiffening material to the back of the moving fabric, means for drying this primary coating, means for applying a second coating of thinner stiffening material to the fabric over said dried coating, and means for drying said second coating, said applying and drying means being arranged in the order named, whereby two successive coatings may be applied to the back of the fabric at one operation thereon.

2. An apparatus for the purpose specified, having means for carrying a strip of pile fabric, means for applying to the back of the same a dressing or stiffening material, and

means for drying the latter, and having also a preliminary drier applied to the back of the moving pile fabric, said drier comprising a hollow, V-shaped bar and means for heating the same.

3. The combination with the endless carricr for the fabric, of a heater, comprising a casing having aribbed plate n, suspended over the carrier, means for adju'stably suspending said casing, the gas-burners in said casing, and means for supplying air and gas to said burners.

4. An apparatus for the purpose specified,

angular face of said bar, and means for applying to the dried fabric a stiflening material and for drying the latter.

5. An apparatus for'the purpose specified, having means for applying the stiffening material t0 the ufpuper face of the moving fabric,

comprising a der which the fabric passes, a glass bar 6 in front of and above the scraper, over which the moving fabric passes, and a reservoir above the pocket formed in the fabric in ed depressing-scraper f unfront of the said scraper, said reservoir supplying the stiffening material.

6. In an apparatus for treating pile fabrics the combination of means for carrying the fabric with the back thereof uppermost, means for applying a stifiening material to the back of the fabric, and a heater so located that the moving fabric will pass below with its back toward and in proximity thereto for the purpose of drying said material.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name, this 28th day of January, 1901, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

FREDERIOE. KIP.

Witnesses:

HENRY CONNETT, PETER A. Ross. 

